Jedward

On Sunday, almost 28 years after my trip to Chessington RC club, I finally got round to having a go! Charlie and I headed up to Seaham, he armed with his B4 and me with the Desert Gator. Normally your first nights racing is free, but we have been going to NEAM now for a little over three months, and while I hadn't actually raced in this time, it didn't feel right to play for free after all this time, well all funds to the bennefit of club etc. Anyway shortly after practice, race controll offered me my fiver back as it was clearly my first night's racing, ever! What with the excitemnt of mounting the rostrum for the first time (to thunderous applause ) I forgot to take any photos, therefore I have attached a sketch of the track; As you can see, it is relativley straight forward with a table-tob ramp to the left of the rostrum, and a corner table-top ramp, well in the corner - this would prove to be my nemesis !!! There were 4 rounds of racing plus a final, I was in heat 1 with 5 others including charlie, who took great delight in laughing at my efforts and reffering to me as ' you Loser' . Round 1 Pit Dad 7 laps (5th - that's right not last!!!) - Charlie 14 laps (2nd) Yeah ok, so it was my first race and the reality of racing a car with 'sticks' is a strange one. I think i might have a go with a steer-wheel type controller and see how it compares. Round 2 Pit Dad 9 laps (5th) - Charlie 16 laps (3rd) Not quite sure what happened, but at one point as I went up the table top, the car seemed to lose power and rolled back down to the bottom??? Cue lots of laughter from Charlie Rround 3 Pit Dad 9 laps - charlie 17 laps So Mr smartie-pants had a really good race, though I didn't see much of him apart from when he lapped me. I was too busy driving off, or under the corner table-top!! Round 4 Pit Dad 9 laps (5th - I should point out that there was an ongoing fault with the 6th placed car) - Charlie 18 laps (2nd) Getting better but those sticks are still a mystery to me???? Final (4 cars) Charlie was on pole but stacked-it-up in the first corner, and I then drove into the back of him for good measure - Hahahahahahahaha! We both did pretty poorly really, with charlie coming 3rd and myself a very distant 4th and dead last. What a great evening we had, really good banter between us and a great Father and son thing to do together. I think it's fair to say that Pit Dad has graduated, but most importantly my training for this year's DT-02 challenge has begun .

Into February and our new built Pumpkin is just about ready to go Bring on the Lunchbox race

Today was round 3 of Benfield's Winter series supported and sponsored by Benfield Sports Centre, and Dynamix Raceway. This round had been postponed from 22 December, and with round 2 on 24th November it had been a long 2 months. In the meantime we had been getting the B4 ready in the form of a new shell and some orange paint; The 2nd B4 arrived this week, but more on that later... Approximately 40 drivers booked in for racing this morning, and this was the low grip track that greeted then on arrival; Charlie was put in heat 1, which was 2WD juniors. There were 5 drivers in the heat with cars including a Hobao H2, Yokomo B-MAX, and a couple of Schumachers; Round 1 From P1, a clean start saw Charlie take an early lead and keep it for the whole race ! He did very well, and seems to be getting to grips with idea of driving the track rather than racing the other cars. A good start with 8 laps. Round 2 If round 1 was a good start, then round 2 didnt go quite so well! As is often the case, a messy start led him to push too hard throughout the race and he really struggled with the grip. or rather lack of it. 4th place, 7 laps. Round 3 Better and the consistency returned along with the patience, as he purposely drove the car through the many twists and turns. The heat leaders were up to speed now following a shaky start in round 1, but Charlie did well, slightly off pace 1 lap down. 3rd place, 7 laps. Meanwhile in the pits... I almost started a fire !!! I had been looking forward to setting up the second B4, and had begun the task not long after we arrived at 7am. When it came to the electrics I plugged the new Mtroniks Tio X, 23T brushed motor into the reciever, and battery. I pressed the set button on the ESC and before I could do anything else, the motor went beserk, and began billowing smoke . Turning the ESC off made no difference, so I disconnected the battery, quickly! I am not sure where the fault is but believe it is with the ESC or reciever??? I will do some checks this week to see... Round 4 Back to the track and a better round for Charlie. Quite often his driving gets erratic when he's overtaking other cars, so we had talked being patient and waiting for the opportunity to get passed without stacking-it-up. I have to give him credit (yeah, I know proudd Dad blah, blah, blah ) but he does seem to take things on board, and he did a good job of getting passed other cars as and when he had to. 2nd place wth 8 laps. Final And so to the final for which Charlie qualified 3rd fastest. A scrappy start and smash in the 2nd corner saw him drop to 5th at one point, but he got it together and did well to finish 3rd, 8 laps. All in all a good days racing, and we plan to return for round 4 in February.

Excellent news! I bet that pushed a few noses out of joint; well done Sir!

Well if you feature Pammy as the driver and I am on the judging panel, I will vote for you in the concourse. If any of my kids are on the judging panel (as per last year) they will also vote for you . Date permitting, I am well up for this. Currently we will be entering 3 cars in stock, possbily an extra in mods. My Brother-in-law should also be in Stock as he got an HB for Xmas, specifically so he could have a go this year; how's that for dedication We are also planning a Monster Energy themed Pumpkin for the Lunchbox race....

Hahaha, that is ironic! You are so right! After weeks of build-up Christmas came and went in a flash. Amidst it all I discovered that I had been a good boy last year via a little suprise under the Christmas tree... These will be fitted to the Desert Gator in due course, as we start to think about getting the car ready for this years DT-02 challenge . With it being the school holidays last sunday, Charlie and I were joined at NEAM by son no.2, Oliver aged 7. As there was no school the next day, a late night on the Sunday wasn't going to be a problem come Monday morning. He had been chomping at the bit for a while, so Sunday was his opportuntiy to get stuck in and show what he could do on a flowing track; Without having had the opportunity for any sort of practice, this really was his first go. He did well completing 5 laps in round 1, and then achieving an extra lap on each of the subsequent two rounds and the final; well done son! The car took one heck of a beating and it's a good job Santa left me those DF-03 shocks Meanwhile Charlie ws doing OK on the B4 (well, when he wasn't tangling with his Brother's DT-02; sibling rivalry perhaps or did I imagine that bit??). He is still getting used to the new brushless set-up which is significantly fast than the silver can he was using. He wasn't helped by the set-up of the car (shocks and tyres), but as always the guys at NEAM are extremley helpfull and not for the first time people rallied round to help out and get the car set-up correctly. There is alot to lear as Pit Dad, and I am learning albeit slowly . Happy New Year all; best wishes for 2014. Jed

December has been a busy month, not just because of the Christmas preparations but becasue any spare time I have seems to be spent preping a car for racing - does that sound like a complaint? Well maybe, but with us being so new to the hobby there seems to be an awful lot to learn, and learning we are ... Lesson 1 - There is no such thing as a budget in racing. Pssst, listen up guys I'm only gonna type this once, becasue if my wife sees or hears this, Charlie's goona get it big time ok ........ Charlie has spent a load of my money on all sorts of bits 'n' bobs recently; wheels, tyres, fluid of some sort, esc, motors, servo, another esc, sticky tape, tools, more fluid of another sort, servo horns, a car I didn't really need (curse you ebay / itchy buy-it-now finger!!....... man the list just gets longer . But it's ok right? becasue there's no such thing as a budget in racing. Lesson 2 - It's alot harder than it looks Charlie is doing really well, but I cannot help but give him lots of advice based on experience I do not have. He is catching onto this, so when there was a break in proceedings last week he suggested I have a go around the track. Oh man I was abismal, you know turning the wrong way, going under jumps instead of over them, cutting corners and driving into a wall! Yep, it really is a lot harder than it looks and I need to practice; LOTS! Lesson 3 - sometimes there are more downs than ups. During the Benfield meet, we were offered a B4 with a Gemini 2 controller at what I felt was a very good price so we snapped it up. Ok, it's an old car but I would suggest it's a step up from the DT-02 and this was underlined at our first meeting with it when Charlie came first in Round 1 - that's right folks, my son won his first race after only 6 weeks . The downside was that the car never finished another race that evening but that's racing right, and we are working on it. And now with Charlie on the B4 (brushless i might add), it frees the DT-02 up for me to have a go on; I just need to start practicing Merry Christmas to all; hope you have a good one! Jed

Well, it's been a while since my last update. Life has been busy of late but we haven't been idle at the track. On Sunday 24th Nov, Charlie entered round 2 of the Benfield winter series, held at Benfield sports centre in Newcastle. With over 60 entries in 2 & 4wd, including 11 juniors, the event was Very well organised and geared towards developing junior talent, the event was a full blown racing fest and a real step- up from what we have been used to. The track was laid onto a polished wood floor so there was very little grip compared to the carpet we have been used to racing on at NEAM. However, from the off Charlie was on the brakes and by the end of the day had really started to get the hang of them. Unfortunately we had a mare with the ball diff, and despite my best efforts and those of others vey willing to help out, we couldn't get it to run right; plenty of power but no traction. While the car was in the pits, another driver gave Charlie the use of his Associated C2 for two rounds, which proved to be a real handful for him. But at least he got to race. Ultimately I binned the gear box on the DT02 for a spare with standard diff, and I am yet to get to the bottom of the issue but I will. Overall we had a great day out and Charlie and the DT02 put in a sterling effort. In the final he started from the back of the grid (5th), but managed to hold third place for a large part of the race until inevitably the inconsistency crept in and finished 4th! We will be booking in for round 3 at the end of Jan. In the meantime we have the NEAM mini-winter series starting this Sunday, and I'll be adding an update with pictures from our racing from the Sunday just passed. Jed

19 drivers booked in for racing at Seahan on the 17th. Four rounds of racing with 2 heats of 2wd and 1 of 4wd. Charlie went in Heat 1 with 5 others, including 2 other juniors, and the evening would be one of steady progress, as his consistency improved as the evening progressed. Round 1 The most challenging round, one where the car seemed to have more air time than track time. There was more polished floor than carpet and Charlie struggled with some of the corners with plenty of understeer, particularly to the left. I had set the esc with 40% brakes, which we have not used before, and as expected he struggled to get the hang of the first time out. 11 laps, best lap 22.421 = 6th Round 2 A better round with his consistency improving, Charlie went on to finish in 6th place again but with 13 laps and a best time of 17.253. There was a few grip rolls on a hair-pin bend in the centre of the traack and for a while I thought I was going to have to start cutting spikes off the mini pins, but Charlie saw this differently (apparently he only rolled once ), so I kept my knife in the tool box. Cornering was still proving difficult though, and again the left-hand side was apparently more problemtatic. Round 3 Further improvement as he was really getting to grips with the track, if not the brakes; but they will come . 14 laps, best lap 16.918 and 5th place. Round 4 The final round of the evening, and Charlie put in his best performance of the evening. A really consistent drive, despite the steering issues, saw him complete 15 laps, with a best lap time of 16.792 and 5th place. Well done Son . And the lesson of the evening for Pit Dad? To open my eyes....

Great to see your thread up and running. We ran the DG using the ball-diff for the first time Sunday with Zero wheelies = result! There's lots of DT-02 activity on the forum right now, which is fantastic to see :-) Following with interest...

So we didn't go racing last Sunday because of prior arrangents with the family, but we will be back to the track tommorrow for more DT-02 action!!! We are really looking forward to it. We have not been idle during our two week hiatus. Well Charlie has, he is more interested in the driving than the fettling. But I don't mind. I enjoy it, there's lots to learn, and when I finally get a car to race, I'll be able to set mine up much better than he will his . We want to make the car a little more race-worthy, so the first task was to rebuild the shocks, dump the kit oil and use something a little more credible... 40wtt AE oil in the fronts and 30wt in the rears. A little green slime applied around the o-rings will help to keep the oil in the shocks. We bought some hop-up parts from Stella (Models not McCartney), including the ball diff set, 3 racing front hubs and universal shafts... These have all been installed. Finally we added 20g of weight to the front, and have managed to secure the loan of little a picnic table (thanks Mum x) So we are all set for week 3 at NEAM; let's ave it! Jed

Not long to go then, I would be interested to know how you get on. Yes, I plan to have a go at some point, it's a must really. Seventeen drivers, including three juniors, booked in for racing on Sunday evening making up three heats of 2wd. The track was different to last week, and in my opinion a more challenging layout with plenty of twists and turns. Start & finish line, at the bottom of the ramp to the left of the photo; Open Practice The wheel and tyre combos worked well and the car seemed less agressive when turing into the corners, and seemed to havea tighter turning circle. My suspisions about the difficulty of the track was confirmed by Charlie, who said it was much harder this week compared to last when the track was more open with less turns. The pits were busy, but I was focussed and ready for anything !! Heat 1 Charlie was car one in a heat of six, which included the three juniors. The car line up included HoBao H2, Associated B4, Durango DEX210, Schumacher SVR, Schumacher SV and Charlie's little DT-02 . As T1 Charlie led the field out onto the track and did a superb job leading for the first two and a half laps. Then he clipped a corner, the car rolled, the field swept passed, and from this point he was playing catch-up. The heat developed into him battling for the wooden spoon with the SV, and he did well to finish 5th on 12 laps, 1 lap ahead of the SV. Heat 2 Well this was the most challenging heat of the evening! Starting 5th, Charlie clipped the first corner, the car rolled and so almost from the off he was playing catch-up. Perhaps pushing a little too hard the car spent most of the heat either in the air or on it's roof; a cartwheel here, a somersault there, the car coming this way, the arial tube going that way. WARNING TO ALL MARSHALLS: LOW FLYING DT-02 COMING YOUR WAY! As if to vent it's own frustrations the car started popping wheelies down the back straight and I could't help but laugh . Might take the Pumpkin next week. 6th place and 10 laps proved what a challenging time he had. Charlie (3rd from left) about to power the DT-02 into corner one (literally!) Meanwhile in the pits... Picnic tables! I've never seen so many picnic tables put to such good use at the same time in such a confined space. There were all sorts of makes, shapes and sizes but their compactability and portability was something they all had in common. Perfect for working on the car and laying out all those tools. We had comandeered a table out of the IT roon, but clearly a fold-away picnic table is something Charlie will want to spend his pocket money on. As for the car, oh that was fine. We had removed the body posts prior to the meeting, and added velcro under the sides of the shell and along the chassis, so that removal and placemnt of the shell was much easier. Heat 3 Back to the track and heat three would prove to be the highlight of the evening. Starting at the back of the field, charlie had a good drive with the DT-02 much more composed on the track, particularly in the corners. A well deserved 4th place with 13 laps and an FTQ of 20.004 being his reward, with the SV and Hobao (which had developed a fault) coming in 5th and 6th respectivley. Heat 4 With the evening drawing to a close, a solid drive saw the Dt-02 finish in 6th place with 11 laps. Smiles all around at the end, after what had been another very enjoyable evening at NEAM Jed

Evening all. Less than 24 hours until our second evening at NEAM, and it feels like Christmas eve in our house. We are so excited about racing ! Now feels like the right time to introduce you to the car central to our thread at this time. As I mentioned previously, the car is a 2010 Holiday Buggy on the DT-02 platform; cue a round of boos and hisses from the purists amongst us . This is how the car appeared at the DT-02 Challenge earlier this year (purists may want to look away now)... ... and this is how it looked (in disguise ) for out first visit to NEAM last weekend. Our game plan is for Charlie to use this car to get used to driving around a track, but also for him and me to learn about set-up and the more technical aspect of the hobby. I think it's the perfect place to start since it is a relativley cheap platform to modify and has bags of potential to be improved out of the box. Charlie will use this car indoors at NEAM over the winter, and possibly enter a couple of rounds of the Benfield indoor winter series at the end of Jan and Feb, prior to us looking for a car in spring that he can use to compete with at the NE regionals next summer. Big plans perhaps, we have a plan but will see how things pan out week-by-week. At this point I must say a massive thank you to TC member Super Gripper for the endless amount of tech advice and support he has provided us with to-date; thank you Lee from both Charlie and myself . We are going to be improving the car over the coming weeks and months. First up was to improve handling on the track and in particular cornering. The kit tyres are as much use a a chocolate teapot on the track, so we have purchased a pair of DF-03 rear wheels, plus a set of front and rear Schumacher yellow mini spikes, with the reevant foam inserts. Next we have replaced the upper fixed-length arms with turn buckles (set up by Super Gripper) giveing the car the correct amount of camber to improve cornering. The picture below shows the front, pre-turn buckle with no camber (on the left), and with the turn-buckle and camber (right); This photo shows the rear end before (left) and after (right); The car before and after... ... essentially looks the same, but handling should be improved. As should my performance in the pits where I will endeavor to remain focussed on the tasks-to-hand. I will also try to get some decent shots of the track. Jed

Yes, and it's easy to see why this won the concourse event; the paint is stunning and really makes the car stand out. Well played John! I have become a big fan of the DT-02 following the 2013 challenge. A fine entry level buggy out of the box, it has the potential to be so much more with all the option parts available combined with the excellent knowledge and advice from Super Gripper and Gatmix. I think the 2013 Challenge generated some genuine interest and excitement in the UK for racing this platform. The anticipation for an event next year is palpable. Lets hope it happens and can be even bigger next year .

On Sunday evening and Charlie armed with his DT-02 Holiday Buggy, cleverly disguised as a Desert Gator , we went to NEAM (North East Amateur Motorsports), a 1/10 off-road club in Seaham, North East England. The club is based in Seaham Youth Centre, with racing on Sunday evenings from 6pm till 10pm, typically consisting of 3 heats and a final. The track is laid prior to racing and is a combination of carpet over polished floor with a variety of ramps and jumps. With round 1 of the Benfield winter series taking place earlier in the day, Sunday was a quiet night with about 12 drivers in total, and the ideal opportunity for Charlie to have a go! The moment we walked into the hall and I was transported back to the 80s and moor Lane school. The track was laid and race control about ready to go, but there ended any similarity from my last visit track-side. In place of vintage RC cars were a variety of RC beasts that would have left even Gary speechless; Schumachers, Associateds, Hobaos, Yokomos, oh and a Holiday Buggy in disguise armed with a silver can and a £20 speed controller . A vintage Terra Scorcher made a brief cameo during open practice, but was put away when the beasts came out to play, and boy could they shift!!! I have to say at this point, that from the moment we arrived until we went home, everybody was very friendy and welcoming to the newbies. Charlie was given lots of advice on racing and marshalling and was thoroughly looked after all evening. I cannot praise the friendly and welcoming atmoshpere enough! And so to the track... Open practice. Charlie took the car out for a couple of laps but straight away it became apparent that the standard kit tyres had no grip as the car slid one way, then another. Turning into a corner was nigh on impossible! A set of rear wheels with Schumacher mini spikes and inserts, plus a set of fronts with inserts was kindly lent to us for the evening. Back on the track and now the car had plenty of bite and would turn in too early as Charlie tried to get used to the new tyres and drove the car into every obstical on the track. No matter, the large smile on his face told me all I needed to know . Heat 1 The car was clearly pedestrian compared to the others. But the whole point of the evening was to give the lad a taste of club racing and for him to be able to navigate the track as best he could. He did a decent job, 4/4 and managed 9 laps, with his best time a little over 23 secs. "I need a faster motor Dad" he called out to me as he went off to marshall. "No you dont Son" Meanwhile in the pits... This being our first visit to NEAM there was lots to take in, people to say hello to and chat about RC cars with. While Charlie was being briefed on the dos and donts of racing and marshalling, and then while he was racing I was chatting! It was about now that I remembered I had a job to do . Although to be fair, prior to heat 1, I had almost punctured my hand with a body-reamer whilst trying to attached a transponder to the body shell, so I hadn't been completley idle. I realised that I needed to charge up a Lipo, since the first battery I put in the car for practice and round 1, happened to be a 2000mah Nimh. That went some way to explaining the cars pace; RESULT! The lap times should drop like a stone now . One thing with the pitting area was that there was so much to see. Cars here, gadgets there, gizmos everywhere, tools and oh the pit bags where to die for and I dont do bags! Everyhere I looked there was something to see while in my mind I created a shopping list to blow Charlie's pocket money on. I'll have to give him a raise. Heat 2 Proceeded much as heat 1, although an issue with the transponder meant that not all the laps where counted. An alternative transponder was arranged for heat 3. "So can I get a faster mo...." "No! You need to learn to drive before you can race son." I was pleased with this line, especially since i have no experience in racing and bascially do not know what I am talking about. No matter, the expression on Charlie's face suggested that he thought that my advice was wise . Heat 3 By now it was clear that he was getting to grips with the car and the track. Putting together sone nice lines through the bends. 13 laps with a best time of just under 19 secs backed this up, although the Lipo will have helped of course (way to go Pit Dad )!!! The car struggled with the double-jump, tending to land with a resounding thud between the two ramps while the beasts just flew with ease. "No doubt a faster motor will help with that though..." "So I can get a faster mo..." "No!" Final More improvement on the track. A clash with one of the beasts early on (I have no idea what it was) saw the beast come off second best with a popped turn-buckle , tough little Holiday Buggy eh? In short a solid performance for a first time out. Afterwards some of the drivers gathered around to have a look at the car and were very complementry about Charlie's ability, not just becasue of his young age, but also because of the car he was driving, the £20 speed controller and the tin-can motor moving it. "Well, I could do with a faster motor..." We had a great evening and you'll not be suprised that Charlie wants to go back next week, as do I. Cant wait actually (although the faster motor can). Jed

Rumbled! Thank you. Yes, will do. Unfortunaltey our plans were derailed at the weekend when a tummy bug wiped out half the family and our visit to Barley Mow RC Racers had to be postponed. No mattter, we are better now and are off to NEAM this Sunday evening. More to follow... Jed

Racing RC cars is alien to me. It's a hobby that has always appealed, but for whatever reason I've never got round to having a go. Now, my eldest son aged 9, has shown an interest in club racing and I am currently looking into the possiblity of him racing GT12s or TCs at a local club. This thread will document our journey together into the world of RC racing; him as the racer, me as his Pit Dad. First, a little background; When I was 14, I went to the local RC club in Chessington, with my three school friends Gary, Keith and Stuart. Between them they had a Hotshot and two Super Shots, while I on the other hand had nothing but the desire to own a Tamiya of some sort and have a go at racing. The venue was the school in Moor Lane, where the assembly hall had been converted into an offroad RC racing venue. At one end of the hall was race controll. At the opposite end was a stage where the racers stood, behind which was the main pit area. The event was so popular that walking through the main corridor off the hall lead to cloakrooms that had been converted to additional pit areas for the day. In the midst of it all was the track, which had been laid out with the use of carpets as the track and lengths of rope for the markers. I was captivated by the whole event. From the concerted activity and banter in the pits, to the all-out action on the track and the constant shouts, no screams of MARSHALL!!!! Tamiyas of various shapes and sizes, RC10s, Schumacher CATS, Kyoshos all battled it out for the top spots. In particular the white RC10 of Jon Charles (son of the late Mick Charles, and owner of Mick Charles Models) particularly sticks in the mind because of his supreme driving skill. Gary, being the gobby one, informed the two guys next to us that he thought their cars looked a bit naff, "What on earth are those?" he enquired in a derisory tone. "Schumacher Cats!" came the reply, followed by a colourful opinion of Gary's Hotshot and Tamiyas in General . This opinion was then backed up with a masterclass in how to race a Schumacher Cat and leave a Hotshot in it's wake . Gary probably had better days at the track, but that wouldn't have been too hard! With my impressions from the day I was determined to have a go. I ended up with a Boomerang that got bashed, but for reasons that I cannot explain I never made it to the track. Fast forward almost 30 years later and the DT-02 Challenge presented itself as the opportunity to finally have a go at racing . The original plan was for me and my son, Charlie, to enter a car each, but limited finances meant that we only entered one car in the stock class, which was piloted by Charlie. So once again I found myself on the sidelines. I had mixed emotions on the day, torn between cheering Charlie on, giving him lots of advice based on experience I dont have (well that's what Dads are for right?), and wanting to tear the controller from his grasp and have a go myself . Actually being his Pit Dad was the best experience. I was able to support him in his first event and help him get the most from his day. He did ok, 8th in the B final would have been higher, but he lost a lap when he tangled with another car, took a short cut and missed the lap counter; first lesson of racing learned . Perhaps invetivably Charlie is keen to build on his experiences of the DT-02 challenge, and we are looking at joining a local club. There are three in our area; Barley Mow RC Racers - TCs, GT12s, 12th circuit cars Teesside Radio Car Club - TCs, GT12s, LMP 12th scale NEAM - 1/10 off road. Sunday evening we're off to check out some GT12s and TCs, to see if the type of racing is for Charlie but also get some advice on the right car, and kit to buy. I like the idea of GT12s; racing at pocket money prices? We'll see ... Jed

Being my first post, this thread seemed like a good place to start... My name is John Edwards = Jedward. One of the girls in accounts came up with it during the 2009 series of the X Factor which featured Irish singing duo and identical twins John & Edward Grimes, aka Jedward. At the time the monicker was mildly amusing to me , and extremely funny to my colleagues . Over time the novelty wore off and my colleagues forgot............. until my wife gave birth to identical twin boys in 2012, and my colleagues remembered ; Jedward it is then . My first Tamiya was the FAV back in 1985, which was sold for £14 in 1987 to fund the purchase of a new Boomerang. This in turn ended up on the scrap-heap. My eldest son has shown an interest in club racing, and I am currently looking into the possiblity of him (and probably me also) racing GT12s or TCs at a local club. Jed